I was distracted by the suddenness of everything as my hand reached for one of the desserts on the table. We were in the castle garden. Despite the very important letter, the human known as my husband insisted he couldn’t miss tea time with his wife. Sipping my tea, I stared at him as he sat across from me. Something interesting must have happened for him to look so amused.
“Shouldn’t this be a serious matter?”
Only then did he put down the letter and sigh softly. “A guest will be arriving soon.”
“What? From the royal family?”
“Carcalos.”
“Not Carcalos!”
The servants in the garden began to speak of their disapproval.
“Who’s that?” I asked. I didn’t think it was a good thing considering the serious expressions I saw. Is it a person’s name? Is it an object?
Lukas tilted his head. “It’s alcohol.”
“For drinking?”
“Yes.” He nodded and handed me the letter.
“Let’s see. ‘To the Duke of Havel, the Knight of Havel, the Guardian of the North… The Crown Prince of the Edelin Empire sends his congratulations on your nuptials to the Princess of Witches Eleanor Rowen, daughter of the Queen of Witches… on the date of… in the year of… Many glad tidings to thee… I could not attend the ceremony myself, so I’ve prepared a small gift which I hope you’ll accept… We must celebrate with Carcalos next week…’ So, the alcohol mentioned here is the same alcohol I’m familiar with?”
“Mm-hmm.”
The more I heard about Carcalos, the more I didn’t understand. Why was everyone making a fuss about it?
The butler smiled sheepishly. “Carcalos means ‘Emperor’s Blessings’ in the ancient language.”
“That’s a fancy name.”
“It is the wine His Majesty gives to his subjects.”
“I see.”
“It is also said to be the name of a celebration held for those who helped the emperor when the empire was first established. Presently, it is done for heroes who made a great contribution during a war. The drink is to give His Majesty’s blessings to a noble.”
Basically…
“It is a great honor as an aristocrat to be given Carcalos,” the butler said cheerfully. His smile didn’t last long as sighs resounded through the garden.
“How troublesome. What kind of tricks will he play this time…”
“They will take advantage of this opportunity.”
The knights called forth by my husband earlier continued to speculate.
“The number of people attending the procession will be in the dozens…”
“Hundreds at least.”
“I’m also concerned that His Highness was the one to send the letter. He’s establishing himself as a member of the royal family and demanding to be treated as such.”
“It’s not good at all.” The red-haired knight nodded at the butler’s words. “We’ll have to be prepared.”
“Yes.”
“We can expect a nefarious scheme.”
“Of course.”
The knights shook their heads.
As I drank my tea, I watched them carefully. This was a lot more serious than I thought. “I heard Prince Albert was the leader of the anti-witch faction.”
“Oh, he is fascinated by silly, useless things,” Lukas said.
“Do you think he’ll attempt to kill me?”
“…”
My husband’s expression changed. “We don’t know yet, but it is not something to worry about. At the same time, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.”
“But—”
“Even if he was planning to kill you, I won’t let him succeed.”
“…”
“I will protect you, Ella.”
It was strange he smiled so easily. I also didn’t understand how I felt at ease when he said those words. I guess I was relying on him more than I wanted to admit.
***
“Your Highness.”
An old man stepped into a dark room filled with smoke. He covered his nose with his hand. Sitting in a chair was a man with his upper body exposed. He appeared almost drunk. His blond hair appeared almost oily, and his blue eyes weren’t focused on anything in particular.
“Prince Albert.”
Yes, the blond-haired man was none other than the crown prince. The legitimate heir to the glittering Edelin Empire was sitting in a secret room. He was angry at the emperor not long ago.
It’s not the time to be like this. He won’t be able to pull himself together. The old man kicked the bottles on the floor. He was Marquis Elijah, the leader of the crown prince’s forces. Although he was on the side of the crown prince, he was disappointed by His Highness’s behavior. Especially as of late.
“I heard Duke Havel’s popularity has increased.”
“…What?”
“I think a huge factor was the fact that he sacrificed himself to marry a witch.”
“Impossible! How did the peasants find out?”
“Someone revealed what happened in the meeting room. I’m still trying to figure out the identity of said individual…”
The crown prince, who was initially chosen as the witch’s husband, had stabbed someone during the meeting.
“Meanwhile, the public’s opinion of you has gotten worse.”
“Damn it. Damn it all!” Albert stood up and kicked the chair. “Lukas this, Lukas that. It’s always about him! He should be dead by now since he married a monster.”
Either Lukas died at the hands of a witch, or he killed her.
“He’s getting along with the witch better than anticipated. His Majesty is very pleased—”
“Shut up!” Albert threw an empty bottle. “Something’s not right. There has to be! He’s not that kind of man.”
His plan was perfect aside from Lukas being unwilling to see him. Lukas was also someone who didn’t bat an eye when each of his fiancées was taken away. He wasn’t interested in human women. What was so special about a witch? As I thought…
“I’ll have to take action then.” For a long time, Albert was silent as if deep in thought.
“…Will you send Carcalos to the duke?”
He laughed. “I have an idea.”
“…”
“A way to finish him and the witch at once. Hahahahahahahahahaha!”
***
“My lady…”
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“…”
“May I have a moment of your spare time, my lady?”
He sounded like he was ready to cry. I sighed, put down the herb I was cutting, and turned around. There was the butler standing at the doorway.
“What happened?”
“Please help me.”
I can’t believe the skilled butler was asking me for help.
“My apologies, I didn’t want to interrupt your work. I’ve been busy preparing for the celebration, but my lord has disappeared.”
“You don’t know where he went?”
“That’s correct…”
The human known as my husband did not just disappear. He was probably playing around. “I’ll look for him.”
“Thank you!”
The butler was already overworked from the preparations. I should lend him a hand.
“I guess he disappears often.”
“Only sometimes. It’s frustrating.”
“That’s still too often.” After wiping my hands with a wet towel, I got up from my seat and left the potion-making room.
“Where should I start?” Even though I agreed to find him, I wasn’t sure where to look first. “Considering the butler’s personality, he should’ve visited every nook and cranny already…”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black, metal gate. That was the way to House 2 and House 3. Normally, there would be soldiers stationed there, but it was unguarded since guests were arriving soon. Maybe I could use this as an opportunity.
“I would advise you not to head in that direction.”
“…”
“Shall we go somewhere else?”
He sounded familiar. To be more specific, the butler was looking for him now. As expected, I turned my head to see my husband. I didn’t even hear him approach, but he suddenly appeared. Was he watching me from somewhere? Suddenly, a creepy idea came to mind; I decided not to question Lukas Havel because it was possible he’d do it.
“I wasn’t going to walk around House 2 or House 3 because I wanted to,” I said. “I was wondering if you went there.”
“Me?”
“I was looking for you.”
“My wife was looking for me?” He must have been shocked since his eyes slightly widened. “My wife wants to see me. Will the sun rise in the west tomorrow?”
“I’m only doing this because Mr. Alan is trying to find you. The sun will rise normally tomorrow.”
He sighed before smiling again. I thought I heard him murmur something like “ah, of course, of course”.
“What are you doing here anyway?” I asked.
“I am playing hide-and-seek. Would you care to join me?”
“Who are you playing it with?”
“Mr. Alan.”
That poor, poor butler. If he knew he was forced to participate in a game he wasn’t even aware of, he’d be upset. I recalled his pitiful image as he begged me moments ago. These past few days, there were bags under his eyes ever since that letter arrived from the royal family.
“How come you’re the only one who’s relaxed?”
“I am the one in charge here,” Lukas said.
Of course. “Mr. Alan needs you to check a document.” He didn’t say anything about documents, but I thought Lukas would go to his office.
He didn’t. Instead, he grabbed my hand and walked in another direction. Eventually, he plopped down on a bench near the castle garden.
“My lord, please go help Mr. Alan. The knights were also looking for you.”
There was another person we encountered on our way here: the red-haired knight, Jade Luen. The knights had to reorganize their patrols before the guests arrived, but they were having trouble because their lord wasn’t present.
“Why are you complaining?”
“Maybe because someone here is the person in charge?” I said.
“Are you talking about yourself?” Lukas smirked.
“Who made me a duchess again?”
“It was me. Oh, I see.”
For a moment, I was stunned by how he accepted my words. Only for a moment. “Get back to work already. You don’t have time to mess around. There are guests arriving in a few days.”
He sighed. “Why should I welcome them when only the horses have good intentions?”
“…”
“If anything, they are sharpening their knives on the carriage ride here.”
He wasn’t wrong. These guests were his enemies.
“You don’t have to be scared. My lord will protect you!” Emily told me.
I had to pay closer attention this time around. But I didn’t feel at ease or any sense of relief. If he was protecting me, who would protect him? I was most likely the main target of the celebration; however, Lukas was still in as much danger as I was. I wasn’t sure why I was worried. If I had to put it into words, I think I’ve become attached to this place. Since I was spending time here, we should look out for each other.
I was lucky to have a human husband who was friendly toward witches. He was the husband of a witch, which was a predicament in and of itself, but as a duke, he seemed to be in a very dangerous position. I was anxious because it felt like there was nothing I could do.
“I’ll protect you,” I said.
“I beg your pardon, what did you just say?”
“You said you’d protect me.”
He nodded at my words, but with his widened eyes, he still didn’t understand.
“So, I’ll protect you.”
“…”
“It’s a deal.” He protected me from the enemies that were about to arrive, and I protected him.
Lukas was taken aback.
I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “I mean… aren’t we allies?” It wasn’t like he was fighting against the royal family or something.
A long time passed before he nodded his head. “Yes, we’re allies.” He smiled. “Now, let’s get to work.”
“Huh?”
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“I shall also provide assistance. Let’s do it together.”
Other people were going to busy receiving guests and doing other activities. I was worried I would be the only one without anything to do. If I worked, it’d be a load off my mind. Still holding my hand, my husband stood up, then frowned like he was dissatisfied.
“Ah, they might try that as well.”
When I looked at him as if to ask what he meant, he gave me a small smile. Slowly, he reached out and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. In the brief moment that his hand brushed against my cheek, I felt a burning sensation. The heat quickly vanished because of the gentle breeze. What was that?
I began to feel somewhat restless.